If you start slowing down sooner, there’s a higher chance that the light will turn green before you’re fully stopped. Then you can blast past the people stopped in the other lane.
Even better: learn the pattern of the traffic lights in your commute, and don’t slow down if you see it will turn green in less than two seconds.
If you drive manual, the pro move is to engine brake all the way down. If the light turns green, you’re already in gear and possibly even higher up in revs meaning you can quickly swap right back to the gas pedal. Feels cool every time it happens.